Complete 2026 Guide
Check the record, not the seller word: fard, society office, sub-registrar, online portals and court records, in order, before any token is paid.
Buying a property without verifying the ownership is how people lose crores. The seller word is not verification. You need independent confirmation from the record, in the order below, before you pay. If any check does not match, pause until a lawyer and the issuing authority have answered in writing.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your purchase with a qualified lawyer and the issuing authority for your property type and location.
For land outside housing societies, the land record authority holds the official ownership record. In Punjab, this is the Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA). Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have their own equivalents. Visit the nearest land record centre with the khasra or khewat number or the seller name, and request a fresh fard, the record of rights. Compare the name on the fard with the seller CNIC. If they do not match exactly, stop. Note the limit: fard records cover revenue land. Properties inside private housing societies are verified at the society office instead.
Most urban Pakistan lives in housing societies, and each society keeps its own ownership record. The DHA office, Bahria Town head office, or the private society transfer office can confirm who the registered owner of a plot or file is. Ask the seller for the plot or file number, then visit the society office, or call its helpline, and request an ownership confirmation. Also ask whether the plot has any outstanding dues or transfer restrictions. Insist on the society own confirmation, not just the seller allotment letter, which can be forged.
Every registered sale deed in Pakistan passes through the sub-registrar office. That office keeps the original record of who sold what to whom and when. With the registry number and date from the seller sale deed, visit the sub-registrar office where it was registered and ask for a certified copy. If the office has no record of it, the deed is fake.
NADRA e-sahulat and the provincial land record portals let you pull basic ownership information online. This is a useful first screen, but it is not a substitute for the issuing authority confirmation. Treat every online result as an initial check, then confirm it at the land record centre, sub-registrar or society office before paying.
Even a genuine owner cannot sell a property that is under a court stay order. Check the district courts where the property is located for any pending case, stay order or mortgage recorded against it. Even without a stay order, buying disputed property is extremely risky, so run this check before paying anything.
A property lawyer runs all of the above checks for you: land record search, sub-registrar verification, court record search and a review of the full chain of documents. For any purchase above a few million rupees, this is cheap insurance. Use a lawyer in addition to, not instead of, the authority confirmations above, and keep every confirmation in writing.
Whichever method you use, confirm these five things before paying.
| Check | What it proves |
|---|---|
| Seller name matches the record exactly | The person selling is the person recorded as owner, spelling included. |
| Boundaries and area match the record | You are buying the exact plot or house described in the record. |
| No mortgage, stay order or pending case | No burden survives the sale and attaches to the buyer. |
| Seller CNIC matches the documents | The identity on the record is the identity of the seller. |
| Power of attorney, if someone else signs | A registered power of attorney, verified independently, authorises the signer. |
All six methods above take time, travel and paperwork. There is a faster way: only shortlist properties where the verification is already done. On ilaan.com, every Gold listing carries a verification badge because the ilaan team physically visited the property, checked the owner CNIC and ownership documents against the record, and confirmed the seller is the real owner. Gold listings are always from direct owners, never agents, and ilaan.com charges 0 percent transaction commission. Verification that would take you weeks is already complete before you make the first call.
Punjab, Sindh and other provinces run online land record portals, and NADRA e-sahulat offers basic checks. These are good for a first screen, but confirm ownership at the issuing authority, land record centre, sub-registrar or society office, before paying.
Buying a listing that is already verified. On ilaan.com, Gold listings have passed an in-person ownership verification by the ilaan team, so the checks are done before you engage.
If there is a stay order, no. Even without one, buying disputed property is extremely risky. Always run the court record check before paying anything.
Yes. Every verification method compares the seller identity against the record. If the seller will not share their CNIC, treat that as a red flag and walk away.
Take the file or allotment letter to the society own transfer office and ask them to confirm the owner on record, plus any dues or transfer blocks. Do not rely on the seller documents alone.
Stop. Do not pay a token, and do not accept an explanation in place of a corrected record. Ask a lawyer and the issuing authority to explain the mismatch in writing before you take any further step.
Browse verified direct owner listings on ilaan.com and deal at zero commission.
